This is the President's proposed Federal Budget for the
US government's fiscal year, which begins on October 1.
The President's budget is usually sent to Congress in February,
for the fiscal year beginning the following October.

In most years, this website is updated by the end of March.
A change of administrations can
delay the release of budget data by a couple of months.

Why does the budget contain negative numbers?

This confuses most people. However, in the interest of accuracy
this site uses the numbers as they are published by OMB.
And that's the way they do it.

Outlays include negative items such as receipts from investments
and interest-bearing accounts.
Receipts include negative items such as refunds to taxpayers.
In both cases, OMB and other sources use negative numbers
rather than moving these items to the other side of the budget.

Negative numbers are not used in calculating percentages in the pie charts.
Calculating without negative numbers enables direct comparison of expenses.
As the pie chart shows, we spend almost as much on Interest as we do on Defense.

What are FHI, FSMI, FDI, and FOASI?

Medicare includes two major programs,
the Federal Hospital Insurance (FHI) fund and
the Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance (FSMI) fund.

Similarly, Social Security includes two major programs,
the Federal Disability Insurance (FDI) fund and
the Federal Old Age and Survivors Insurance (FOASI) fund.

These abbreviations are used in both Receipts and Outlays portions of the budget.

Isn't Social Security separate from the rest of the budget?

Social Security is a retirement trust fund.
By design, it is presently running a surplus,
building up money to pay benefits when the "baby boom" generation retires.

Some visitors to this site have suggested that Social Security
should be treated separately from the rest of the budget.
However, Social Security is not treated separately by the government.
Instead it is used to pay current expenses.

How much do we spend on the war?

The costs of war are split between agencies in the Department of Defense,
the Department of State, the Department of Veterans' Affairs, and other departments.

In March 2009, the Government Accountability Office estimated the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan had cost
$808 billion.
In May 2009, the Congressional Research Service estimated the cost at
$864 billion.

The final costs of both wars depends on how long the troops remain;
how much we spend caring for wounded veterans; the impact on our economy; and other factors.
In 2008, Bilmes and Stiglitz projected these costs at
$3 trillion.

The Concord Coalition
is a non-profit organization that
explains Federal Budget problems and proposes constructive solutions.
The Concord site provides information on budget and entitlement programs
and maintains a comprehensive list of budget-related sites.

Where can I find more information on the National Debt?

The Bureau of the Public Debt
is the government agency responsible for management of the National Debt.
The Bureau's site includes a calculation of the current National Debt to the penny.

Michael Hodges' Grandfather Report
presents beautiful charts and a wealth of information from a grandfather concerned
about the long-term effects of the National Debt.